The Journalist
by Lavender Hope
Summary: July Ame (pronounced Julie) is a student journalist who gets a chance to figure out the mysteries behind the ninja and alien sightings in New York. But she'll soon uncover a shocking secret about herself. Takes place somewhere during the second season of the 2012 series and Irma is not a Kraang droid. Title is a work in progress.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first story on here, so I hope everyone likes it! I'm still trying to figure out how Fanfiction works, so please bear with me. ^.^'**

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Chapter One

 _Don't bow, don't bow, don't bow..._

"Class, today we have a new student."

 _Don't bow, don't bow, don't bow..._

"I hope you can all make her feel welcome," the teacher continued. "Her name is July Ame."

July winced. Again, her name was pronounced wrong. Her teacher had said it as July Ah-mee, but really it was pronounced Julie Ah-meh. Not seeing her wince, the teacher turned to her and continued, "Would you like to introduce yourself a little?"

July walked up to the teacher. She had an Asian look, but whether she was Japanese or Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese, people could never tell until she told them. Along with being Asian, she was smaller than average for her age. Fighting the urge to bow, she spoke loudly, a little too loudly out of nerves, "My name is actually July Ame." She pronounced it correctly. "In Japanese, Ame means rain. I'm seventeen, and I just moved here from being in Japan for a few years- I lived in California before then, and was actually born here in New York." Mentally, July winced. She was babbling again. "I also like journalism and writing." She concluded, stoping herself from saying anything else.

Ms. Walter smiled at her. "We have a newspaper group here, I'm sure you'll find something that interests you. Please take a seat." She gestured to one of the empty seats near the back. July chose one by the window and sat down, keeping to herself while quietly getting her supplies out. Ms. Walter was starting to move on with the lessons.

"Pst, hey," whispered the girl next to her. She had stringy brown blond hair and big hazel eyes behind wire framed glasses, and was wearing ripped jeans and a yellow shirt with a smiley face on it.

July glanced at the front, but Ms. Walter wasn't looking. She turned back to the girl and whispered, "Hi," back with a small wave and a smile.

Quickly, the girl scribbled a note and passed it to her. It read, _My name's Kayla_. July looked back up and Kayla gave her a smile. Then she wrote another note. This time it said, _So you like writing? Journalism?_ July nodded and was given another note. _Lunchtime, meet me in the library. Bring your food._ July gave her a full grin before noticing Kayla's hurried dive back into her textbook. She turned in time to see their teacher slowly walking up the table rows, seeing how the students were doing. Quickly, she copied Kayla and started to read.

A few minutes had passed before Ms. Walter stopped at a desk a few tables in front of July. She couldn't see the girl's face, but she saw long red hair tied in a ponytail and a yellow shirt with white stripes on the sleeves. And she saw that the girl's head was lying on her desk.

"Miss O'Neil." Ms. Walter said strongly, standing right in front of her. She repeated the name one more time before finally shouting, "April O'Neil!"

The girl's head snapped up and she looked around as if wondering where she was. July noticed she wore a yellow headband that matched her shirt. Students laughed, though the teacher didn't see anything funny about it.

Ms. Walter pursed her lips, then asked, "Do you have trouble sleeping at night, Miss O'Neil? This is the third time this week that you've fallen asleep in my class!"

"Sorry, Ms. Walter," July heard her mumble. "I'll try going to bed earlier."

Ms. Walter sighed and spoke softly, "Meet me after class." Then she went back to the front of the room and continued the lesson.

* * *

The bell rang. Sighing, April began to put away her things, but stayed in her seat until everyone else left. What was she going to tell her teacher? She'd spent most of the night practicing a move Master Splinter had taught her that day. He let her go home early, as it was a school night, but she wanted to keep practicing because she couldn't get the hang of it. In the end, she didn't get to sleep until two in the morning. From school to homework to training with Splinter, and practicing on her own, April's day just got busier and busier; she couldn't help it if she started falling asleep in class.

Ms. Walter walked up to the desk in front of April and sat down facing her. "So, is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

When April didn't answer right away, Ms. Walter continued, "April, you're a very bright student, even getting honors in certain subjects, but you know sleeping in class is unacceptable."

"I know," April managed to get out, "I guess I'm just working a lot, and a bit stressed, honestly. There's a lot going on in my day, and it's been affecting my sleep schedule."

Ms. Walter smiled warmly. "Well, I suggest not overworking yourself. It's alright to pace and go slowly if you need to. I know you'll still do well." Ms. Walter stood up and headed back to the front of the class, where her desk was. April got up and followed her, sighing quietly.

The teacher pulled out a slip and started scribbling on it, explaining, "I'm writing you a pass in case you get to your next class late." She handed it to April, who took it and thanked her. Then she hurriedly rushed out so she could at least attempt to get to second period class on time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the formatting mistakes on the previous chapter! I tried editing it three times and it still hasn't worked out well... Then again, I'm using the app and they just recently added the story publisher thing, so hopefully it'll be easier to edit after the next update. Anywho, on to chapter two!**

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Finally, after two more classes, it was lunchtime. July got her food and started going back towards the halls. Suddenly she stopped dead in her tracks. She never even asked where the library was! Looking around, July hoped to find a friendly face who could show her where to find it.

Suddenly there was a shout, "Hey, new girl!" A boy was making his way over to her, catching her attention with a big wave. Being singled out like that made her face feel hot with embarrassment. The boy had short, light blond hair and blue eyes, and wore loose pants with several pockets along the legs and a black long sleeve under a plain grey short sleeved jacket. He came up to July, panting hard. After a few moments, he asked, "You're July, right?" He must have heard her name from someone in her class, because she didn't recognize him from any of her classes so far, but he pronounced it as Julie.

"Yeah." She frowned for a moment. If he knew her name, why cause a scene by calling her New Girl?

The boy didn't notice her frown, and continued, "I'm James. I'm part of the school newspaper committee. Kayla said you're probably not going to know where the library is, so she sent me to get you."

"Oh, well thanks," she said with a small, half confused smile.

As he turned around, he said, "Come on, I'll show you." She followed him as he started walking back through the halls, making sure to memorize the route they were taking.

As they walked, he explained some things about the group. "I'm the photographer and reporter for public events and special stories. Kayla's the sports reporter; she plays soccer, so most of her stories are based on that, but she also does reports on martial arts influence in New York—due to her obsession on this one guy, Chris Bradford, or something like that." He spoke fast, which surprised July.

 _He's even more hyper than me when I get excited_ , she thought.

"Amy's the lead editor- oh, and our newspaper is a web page, did I mention that yet? Anyway, she's in charge of the stories that go through and, just between us, she's pretty strict, but don't say that to her face! Then there's Andrew, Drew for short, who- oh, hang on a sec." James broke off mid-sentence as they reached the door to the library building. He opened it for July. "After you," he said with a slight bow, smiling at her. She smiled shyly in return before ducking through the door.

Inside, the library was rather big, in school terms. There were a lot of books, as well as open places to sit and study or read. As it was lunch, July saw a few students; most seemed to be studying, while a couple were free-time reading. In the back, off to the side in a semi-closed off room, was a small group of teens sitting around two combined tables, speaking in hushed voices. James led her there.

At one table, a tall girl was standing behind a boy who was typing on a computer. They were looking at the screen, while the girl whispered things to him, pointing at something every once in a while. At the other table, Kayla was standing as well, and leaning over a magazine, talking seriously with the boy sitting next to her.

"Hey, guys," James said a little too loudly.

The tall girl shushed him and whispered harshly, "Do you want us to be kicked out again?" She had her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her light brown eyes narrowed in annoyance. July guessed that was Amy.

James winced and whispered extra quietly, "Sorry." July gave him a sympathetic look. She was usually the same, too loud and very talkative. She felt that she could understand him in a way.

With a sigh, Amy went back to looking at the computer screen. She continued whispering to the dark haired boy. He was a little on the stout side, but he seemed nice. He was moving the mouse around a lot as Amy said, "Yes, change that. We need our news page up to date on those subscribers and share gadgets. Give more ways to spread what's going on locally and around school. Don't forget to add our new logo design."

James leaned close and whispered, "That's Drew. He works as the technical webpage designer."

James and July moved to sit next to Kayla and the other boy. They didn't notice the newcomers until James found an opening in their conversation to get their attention. He cleared his throat quietly. Kayla looked up at them, frowning slightly. Then she smiled when she realized who they were.

Kayla looked toward the others and called out quietly, "Fellow reporters, may I have your attention, please. This is July, a new student at our school. She says she's interested in journalism, so I suggested that she come to this meeting." Everyone greeted her back, while introducing themselves. It turned out that Amy also did reports on school announcements, interviews with the student council, and stories on any teens worth mentioning. The boy who was talking with Kayla introduced himself as Devon. He also worked in sports, but would help with any other story that the group wanted to follow up.

Amy gave July a critical look of appraisal. "Got a portfolio or anything you've worked on that you can show me?"

Feeling nervous, July replied, "I have a journal I used when I stayed in Japan. It has some things you might find interesting." She shrugged off her backpack, rummaged through it, and pulled out a half battered notebook.

Amy took it, and as she opened the book, the others grouped around her to see the things July wrote as well. There were stories of July's thoughts and feelings as she experienced life in the Japanese city. She didn't go to a popular place like Tokyo, but more of a city surrounded by the ocean on one side and a mountain on the other. She shared what life was like in a country where tradition mixed with modernity. Holidays in festive kimonos and demon masks, with parades that had marching bands and dancers and baton twirlers. Cherry blossoms in bloom all over the mountainside. She also taped pictures of the things she described on the pages, allowing the readers to see for themselves the beauty of Japanese culture.

The group was quiet as they took in the pages and stories. Finally, Amy was the first to look up from the notebook and brake whatever spell they were under. "This is really good," she said slowly. "Alright, you're in."

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 **Please leave areview and let me know what you think! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Big thank you to my two first reviewers, Guest and Bajy! And another thank you to Bajy for the follow and fav! Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter!**

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April plopped her tray on the table, sitting next to Casey, who had already started to eat, and slumped onto the bench. She began stabbing at her salad and stuck a forkful in her mouth.

"Looks like someone's in a mood today," Casey ribbed.

Irma came to sit down across from them as she replied, "Got detention after school from Mr. West for having her phone out. Also this." She took out her own phone and showed him a gif on My Face with April jolting awake in class. Her face showed surprise and confusion as her wide but unfocused eyes darted around. Above it was the caption, "This girl fell asleep in my class and got a surprise awakening from our teacher. Her face is priceless! XD"

Casey winced. "Dude, that is not cool."

"Yeah," April huffed, "and that's what got me detention in the first place." That was half true. She had gotten texts from Donnie and Mikey, who had seen the post and were checking up on her, or in their own words:

 _Donnie: April, did you fall asleep in school again? Was it from practicing? Sensei told you not to overwork yourself with that move. Please be more careful. ~Donnie~_

 _Mikey: Dude, did you see this yet? Oh and hey, I think I found your page! Friend me? Plzzz?_

She didn't even know about the post until she read those texts, but that was how she got caught. So basically, the post got her a detention. It was only after class that Irma showed her the full post and the reason for the stares she'd been getting in the halls.

"Does that mean we're not hanging out after school, Red?" Casey gave her a pointed look. Reminding her of visiting the turtles, April groaned and let her head fall into her hands. Master Splinter was going to give her a talk for staying up late again, she just knew it.

"Whoa, what's up, April? You okay?" Irma asked, a little concerned at her friend's odd behavior.

"Yeah, I just forgot that there was something else I had to do after school today." April moved her hand to hold up her chin while taking another bite of her lunch. Mumbling to Casey, she said, "I'll meet you there. Just tell Master Splinter I got a detention." Casey shuddered, but gave a slight nod. He'd gotten used to the giant talking rat, but still, rats in general freaked him out too much. He tended to avoid bumping into Master Splinter as much as he could. April knew that, and was sorry to ask him, but she suspected Donnie and Mikey would get in trouble if it was them who told him. They weren't supposed to be on the social website after the incident with Mikey, but they liked it too much to stop using the site. As far as she knew, Raph never cared and Leo didn't want to disobey his sensei.

"What are you mumbling about over there?" Irma asked, looking at them a little suspiciously. "You two are always going off together. Seriously, where do you go?"

"Did you forget I have to tutor him everyday?" April asked in a mock exasperated teasing way. She thought fast in hopes to steer Irma away from the question. It was still true though. Even when they visit their underground friends, she'd be helping Casey with his homework once her training was over. "We barely do anything fun."

"Aw, Red," Casey protested with a cocky grin, catching on. "I thought you liked teaching me."

"Ha, you're harder to teach than a turtle." April retorted with a laugh. Casey and Irma joined in and the tension was broken.

They ate the rest of their lunch chatting about the next classes and what they were going to do over the course of the week.

* * *

"So what else are you interested in writing about?" Amy asked as they ate their lunch.

"Um, well, this might sound a bit crazy," July started nervously, "but I was interested in that ninja thing they had on the news once." She got her notebook and flipped through the pages to find the entry she wrote about it.

On the page was a picture showing a TV screen with the reporter Carlos Chiang O'Brian Gambe. The headlines showed **NINJAS IN NYC?** Japanese words lined the sides of the picture. July had written under it: _Note to self, if ever in NY, follow this up._

Under that was a picture from a later time, still showing a TV screen, but on it was an alien spaceship instead of a throwing star. July's note then said, _First ninjas, now aliens?_

Kayla laughed. "That spaceship sunk in the river the day it appeared. There's nothing to follow up with that, because we haven't seen any aliens since!" In a more thoughtful tone, she added, "Haven't seen any signs of ninjas either, but they're _ninjas_. I doubt anyone will be able to even catch a glimpse of them, other than that throwing star."

"Still worth a try, right?" July asked hopefully.

Amy wrinkled her nose distastefully. "I guess, if you really want to." Then she said in a more official tone, "You can be in charge of the unusual stories. But remember this: no rumors unless proven true, only facts, and hard evidence. Keep that in mind, and I'll consider adding the stories you find to our website."

July smiled. "Thanks, boss." Amy blinked in surprise at the term. No one had called her that before. Then she smiled back.

Kayla and Devon went back to looking at the sports magazine they had been whispering over earlier. Now July was able to see it clearly. The cover showed a buff looking martial artist, who looked a bit like that Chuck Norris guy. Being close enough, she was able to hear what Kayla was saying now.

"I'm telling you, this needs to be followed up. Chris hasn't been seen since the expo seven _months_ ago! He could be missing and _no one_ filed a report on him!"

Andrew and Amy groaned and said together, "Not again."

"Calm down, Kayla," Devon whispered back, more used to her obsession than the others. "There was a topic about him _weeks_ ago. If I remember right, his agents said that he wanted to retire early."

"Then that news should have made headlines," Kayla whisper harshly. "It doesn't make sense that someone as famous and popular as _Chris Bradford_ would retire without the press making a big fuss over it. I mean, I didn't even _see_ the article, and that's saying a lot, because I read these things thoroughly." She poked the magazine. "Plus, he's not even that old yet. Why would he want to retire so early? Come on, we _have_ to follow this up."

"Kayla, this guy is famous. Maybe he just wanted a peaceful retirement without all the fuss." Andrew suggested.

Ignoring him, Kayla gasped as a thought came into her head. "What if he got hitched? And that's why he doesn't want the press making such a fuss over it? What if he retired because he wants to _settle down? Do you know what this means?_ No more Chris Bradford on the cover of Sports Weekly! This is a nightmare!" She grasped her head and fell back in her chair dramatically.

"Is she always like this?" July whispered to Devon. James tried to hide his laugh by coughing, while Andrew shook his head as if wanting to give up trying. Amy pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"Only when it's something she's really into," Devon whispered back, smiling at Kayla in amusement.

"Fine," Amy started. "You can look into it. Just don't go asking me to put the story up if you find anything. If he wanted his retirement to be kept from the masses, then we should respect that. We're a news group, not a gossip magazine."

Kayla looked to Amy, her eyes shining with hope. "Thank you, Amy! You're the best!" She forgot to lower her voice then, and everyone at the table shushed her simultaneously. July smiled. Her first day at school, and it seemed she made some awesome new friends.

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 **Hey guys! I just thought I should mention that I'm posting so quickly due to the fact that I've already written these chapters. After chapter four, updates might be slower. Hope you won't mind the wait. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Okasan, tadaima!" July called, entering their three roomed apartment. It was on the tenth floor, close to the roof, but a long way from ground level. Luckily, Yuki Ame found a good place that had working elevators.

Her mother turned from her area in the kitchen, smiling. "Okaerinasai, July-chan." This was their usual greeting after school. It was Japanese for 'Mother, I'm back', and 'welcome home'. Yuki continued in English, "How was school? Made any friends?"

"Better," July replied with a grin. "I joined the newspaper committee!"

Instead of being happy to hear that, Yuki sighed. "July, you're not still trying to find any ninjas here, are you? You should do something more productive with your life. What happened to music?" She indicated a dark purple guitar that was sitting in one corner of the living room area, next to a bunch of unpacked boxes.

July shifted from foot to foot nervously. When she'd gotten that guitar, her dream was to become a singer. But she just wasn't at that level yet, and high school made her too busy to practice for long. "I'm still practicing," she said after a few moments' hesitation. "Anyway, I have homework. I'll practice later."

She started to head toward her room when her mother asked, "Would you like a snack?"

"No thanks, I'm good." July answered with a smile and a quick wave before entering her room.

* * *

Being in detention allowed April to catch up on some homework that was due soon, but she was still relieved when the hour was over. She arrived near the manhole that would lead her to the turtles' Lair, waiting for the coast to clear. Soon enough, she passed the old ticket gate that made for the entrance of their home. Raph and Casey were sitting on the couch, battling each other, loudly, in a video game. Leo was training with the ninja dummy, while Mikey read one of his comics. April guessed Donnie was in his lab, as usual, working on something. Leo was the first to notice her.

He stopped when he saw her and greeted her with a wave. "Hey, April." He walked over to her and said quietly, "Donnie told me what happened today. I still don't get why people post things like that, isn't it making fun of you?"

April gave him a tiny smile. "It's fine, Leo. That's normal for people." Sadly, it was normal for _those_ people. She could never go back to having a normal life, but April was beginning to accept it. She had some pretty awesome friends, even if they were four rowdy teenage mutants. They were her secret, and deep down, it felt nice knowing something the rest of the world couldn't.

Casey's voice penetrated her thoughts. "I am so whooping you, Raph!"

"Oh yeah?" Raph responded with a laugh. "We'll see about that!"

April smiled. Besides Casey, of course. At least there was one other human friend that she could talk to about the turtles. That, plus her dad, who was back to normal and at home safe and sound, was all she could want.

After about an hour, July took a break from homework and went to her bedroom window. It lead out onto a fire escape. The first day they moved in, July had climbed onto the roof, curious of what New York rooftops looked like. Their building was surrounded by taller buildings, so there wasn't much of a horizon that she could see to. The area on the roof was empty though, so July thought that if no one else wentup there, she could use it as a place to practice her guitar. It would probably be the  
best place that won't annoy the other apartment dwellers.

Now, she chose to sit on the window sill. Leaning against the frame, July took out a necklace. She always wore it, but made sure it stayed hidden under her shirt. Her mother had given it to her when she was thirteen, saying it had been a wedding gift from July's father. The chain was silver, as was the charm attached to it. The charm was in the shape of a foot, which, July thought, was a little unusual for a necklace. It was hanging by a link in the center of a thin silver ring of metal, enabling  
the pieces to move freely as opposed to being melded together and moving in the same way.

Every time she looked at it, July couldn't help wondering what kind of man her father had been. After asking many times, her mother finally told her that one day, he simply left them, and this was before July was even born. She had stopped asking for more details when she realized how much her mom was still aching over it, and only took the necklace out when she was alone. Still, July clasped it tightly as she wondered if she'll ever meet him someday. After the moment passed, she tucked the necklace back under her shirt and continued to stare out the window.

* * *

April performed the move she spent all night working on for Master Splinter. After she completed it, he hummed thoughtfully for a moment. Finally, he said, "You have certainly improved, April."

"Thanks, Master Splinter," April replied with a relieved grin. At least all that practicing paid off.

"But," he started to continue. April mentally groaned. She knew this had been coming since he didn't speak to her before starting the lesson. "I hear you had a problem at school today. Would you care to tell me?"

"I - It was more than one problem, Sensei." April said guiltily. She told him the story backwards, starting from getting caught on her phone in class to falling asleep in the previous one.

"Ah, but sometimes a chain of problems has only one root. What caused you to fall asleep, April? I sent you home early so this wouldn't happen."

"I wanted to keep practicing, Master Splinter," April answered, eager to prove her dedication to learning. "It was a hard move, but as you said, I improved because I practiced so much." She watched him nervously, wondering what he'd say.

He hummed again. Eventually, he said, "Very well, but do not push yourself too hard. Dedication is one thing, but pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion is unhealthy. Be careful that it won't happen too often. Get better sleep tonight."

April bowed. "Yes, Sensei." After a moment, she straightened and asked, "Why do you push your sons so hard then?"

"Where you have school, they have training. I believe they can handle the work I set for them everyday." Suddenly there came a shout from outside the dojo. It was Mikey, and by the sound of it, he did something to anger Raph again. Master Splinter sighed  
and pressed his fingertips to his forehead, then added, "Besides, if I give them too much free time, they become restless." April smiled at that.

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 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! As I mentioned in the last one, the next chapter might take longer to post, but I'm working on it!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I managed to finish this chapter pretty fast. :D Thank you to FatalFlaw16 for your review! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

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July was relaxing on the roof later that evening. The sun had gone down, but as she discovered the first few days they arrived in New York, she was disappointed to realize the lights of the city blocked out the stars. In Japan, she lived far enough out of the city limits to be able to watch the stars at night. Already July felt a pang of- not homesickness exactly, more like loneliness. She missed stargazing, and not being able to see them made her feel like she lost something close to her.

Shaking her head, July went back to the reason she was out there in the first place: to look for anything out of the ordinary;not that she'd find anything, but she could still try.

 _Ninjas_ , July thought, _probably only appear at night. That should mean there'd be a better chance of spotting them now than during the day_. If only her mother hadn't confined her to staying on the roof of their apartment. It would have been much easier to search if she could move around on the other rooftops or something.

She was just about to head in for the night when July heard panicked shouting and sounds of shooting from something like a laser gun in sci fi movies. Turning on her camera, she peered through the lens and zoomed in to get a better look.

Her eyes widened when they landed on what resembled a giant, human sized spider running for its life with three expressionless men in suits chasing behind it. The men looked unnaturally similar in their appearance and the way they moved, and they held guns that shot pink energy blasts. At least she now knew where the laser sounds came from.

If it wasn't for the creature's pitiful shouting, July wouldn't have cared for the spider. She hated spiders. Well, hated bugs in general, but spiders were among the ones she hated most. Yet it didn't look exactly like a spider. It had hands and feet in the same position as a human, but four spider-like legs protruded from the top of its head. Judging by the pitch of his shouting, July guessed it was a male.

She briefly wondered if the creature was an alien and those men in suits were government agents from the famous Area 51. She remembered to take a few pictures before they left her view, but her curiosity got the better of her and she managed to climb down the fire escape quietly enough, following them and keeping out of sight.

As soon as she was in earshot, July heard the spider creature whining, "Why is it always me? Don't you guys have other things to do?" _Yep_ , thought July. _Definitely a male_. The spider used his legs to spring into a flip in the air, shooting what seemed more like acid than venom from his mouth once he was at the peak of the flip.

One of the blobs hit a guy's face and he went down. Before July could get squeamish, she saw that rather than bone and blood, the dissolving skin revealed metal and wires sparking beneath it. Then the guy's stomach opened to reveal, literally, a brain with a face, on tentacle legs. It screeched and skittered away.

July had to cover her mouth to hold back a scream, too shocked and terrified to take a picture. Just what on Earth was going on in New York?! She decided enough was enough and fled the scene before she could be discovered.

It was only when she got back to her room that she realized how late she'd stayed out. It was already one o'clock in the morning. July got ready for bed, but had trouble sleeping that night, with all that she'd seen.

* * *

The next day, July arrived at school a half hour early, exhausted, but hoping to talk to Kayla before class started. Ten minutes before the bell, Kayla finally entered their classroom.

"I need to talk to you," July murmured urgently, guiding Kayla to an empty corner of the room. "I found something last night." She pulled out her camera and showed Kayla the pictures she had managed to take the night before. Unfortunately they were blurred due to movement, and difficult to see. July had taken them from a higher viewpoint, after all.

"Okay, what am I looking at here?" Kayla asked, squinting at the screen. The camera had been zoomed in on the spider creature, making it look more like a black and red tick than a man-sized bug. July took the camera and switched to a better picture. This one had all four subjects in view and even caught some pink energy-whatever-they-were beams in midair.

As she handed the camera back, July asked, "If I tell you what I saw, can you promise to believe it? I'm not making it up, I swear. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Slow down, July. I didn't even hear the story first. Tell me what happened."

July took a deep breath and said, "I think I saw an alien, or two of them." Then she proceeded to explain the details of the picture, pointing out the black dot. "Despite how unclear that is, it's a giant, talking spider." Then she pointed to the three men behind it. "He was being chased by those guys, but the most surprising part is, those guys are actually robots and have a brain-like creature controlling them from the inside, or at least, one of them did. I didn't get a picture because I was  
too close when it happened and just seeing the brain thing come out of the body made me want to scream. Please, you have to believe me."

Kayla took her time to stare at the picture, visibly struggling to understand what July was telling her. In a tone that seemed more like she was pointing out the fact rather than asking about it, she finally said, "But you don't have another witness to back your story?"

"Do I _need_ one?" July replied impatiently. "Come on, Kayla. It was dark, late, and I was alone. How could anyone else be able to see exactly what I saw at the same moment I saw it?"

Before Kayla could reply, the bell rang. Then, sighing, she gave the camera back and said, "Meet me at the outside tables for lunch. You'll be able to find me."

As the students moved to their desks, April couldn't believe what she'd overheard. Someone saw the Kraang! Not only were they on the move again, this time someone witnessed it and took pictures. _I need to figure out what else the girl knows_ , April thought, already wishing for it to be lunch already. _If she keeps snooping around, she might find out about the turtles._

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 **I'm glad you guys are liking the story so far! There's definitely more coming, though certain scenes might not be happening for a few chapters yet. Also, there's going to be a slight change in timeline order. I'm still keeping everything as canon as possible, but rather than having it take place in the second season, my story is going to be in its own timeline. Bebop, Rocksteady, and the Mighty Mutanimals may make appearances in upcoming chapters, and Karai hasn't been turned into a serpent(would this be considered a slight AU fic then?) I hope no one minds. Thanks for reading!**


	6. A Turtle Intermission

**Well, I think I owe a small explanation... Due to some unforeseen events with the story, I'll be needing a bit more time to get the next chapter out. So here's something I hope you all enjoy as I work on getting Chapter Six post ready! It's an edited version of a piece I wrote when I first started writing TMNT stuff, just to get a feel of how well I can get the turtles' personalities out. It's also a rare occasion that I used present tense, so I hope it reads okay. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

A camera is pointing to a young woman as she waves and stands in front of two comfortable looking chairs. "Hello," she says cheerfully, "and welcome to my talk show! Today we have four very special guests, which I'll be interviewing one at a time. So please give a warm welcome to our first guest, the one and only, Leonardo!" An unrevealed audience begins their applause as a turtle, sporting a blue mask and a pair of katanas strapped to his back, walks up to the hostess. They shake hands, and she offers him one of the chairs as she takes a seat in the other. "So, tell us a little about you and your brothers."

The turtle seems a little shy as he clears his throat and begins, "My name is Leonardo, but my brothers call me Leo. Uh, we're ninjas in training, and mutant turtles, but please don't let that alarm you. We may look different, but we're really just the same as everybody else."

The hostess nods. "And what about that teacher of yours?"

"Master Splinter isn't just our Sensei,-"

"That means teacher in Japanese!" A voice calls from off stage, nearby.

Leo turns to the voice and calls back, "Wait your turn, Donnie!" Then he looks back to the hostess with an embarrassed smile and says, "Sorry. Anyway, he's also our adopted father who was mutated into a rat. He used to be a human, before getting in contact with the same stuff that turned my brothers and I into what we are now."

"Interesting," says the hostess with a thoughtful nod. "And what are those strapped to your back? Ninja weapons?"

Leo pulls them out to show her and explains proudly, "These are katanas, my weapon of choice. They can cut through _anything."_

He sheaths them as the hostess continues to ask questions. "What's your role in the group?"

"I'm the leader," he boasts. "I come up with the smart plans that keep me and my brothers safe. But as Master Splinter says, 'Plans always go wrong when faced with the enemy. It's how we react to the change that make us good leaders.'"

The hostess smiles. "Well said. Now, I hear some of your brothers don't like your judgement.

Leo looks surprised. "How did you know?"

The hostess smiles again and says, "I have my ways. So, how do you feel when they don't want to listen?"

Leo sighs, "I just want to make sure they're safe, but sometimes they don't want to back down from a fight, or they want to have fun- I'm not saying it's wrong to have fun," he adds quickly, "but sometimes that _fun_ gets us into more trouble than not. You get what I mean, right?"

"Of course," the hostess replies as a buzzer goes off. "Well, that's all the time we have for now. Thank you for sharing a bit about yourself, Leo." They stand and shake hands once more before Leo walks off stage, to a round of applause, as a second turtle walks in. This one carries a bö staff and wears a purple eye mask. They shake hands and sit as the clapping dies down. "Hi, you must be Donnie," the hostess begins.

"That's right, but it's actually Donatello. Donnie is just a nickname."

"And what's _your_ role in the group?"

"Leo might be the one who comes up with the plans, but I'm the one who makes all the cool gadgets. I'm an inventor of sorts."

"Tell us some of your favorite inventions," the hostess says with a smile.

Donnie thinks for a moment before saying, "Well, there's the T-phone, and the Shellraiser, and- ooh! My favorite is Metalhead." His face brightens at the mention of it. "I used the technology from a Kraang robot to make a remote controlled, battle ready machine. Although, for its first test drive, the alien brain creatures took over its controls and began attacking my brothers with it. Heh." He gave an embarrassed chuckle before quickly adding, "But I got it working again! Then I added a voice control so I can be with my brothers on patrols and still take him with us." Donnie pauses to catch his breath, and was about to continue when the hostess interrupts.

"Wonderful, Donnie! Now I have to say, a little bird told me that you have a crush on a friend of yours. How is that coming along?"

Donnie looks at her a little shocked. "Who told you that? Did April say something?"

The hostess shook her head. "Sorry, Donnie. I made a promise not to say who. Anyway, I also heard that you have some competition."

Once again feeling embarrassed, Donnie admits, "Well, I do have someone I like, but I didn't actually confess yet. And yes, the girl I like is friends with this punk kid who has the same personality as my brother, Raph. That guy can really get on my nerves!" Suddenly, the buzzer goes off.

"Looks like the time's up!" They stand and shake hands as the hostess continues cheerfully, "Thanks for sharing, Donnie, and good luck with that friend of yours. I hope it works out."

Donnie exits the stage as a third turtle comes in. He sits down instantly, folding his arms across his chest impatiently, as if he had other things he could be doing.

Undeterred, the hostess follows his lead and seats herself, giving him a friendly, "Hello, and you are?"

"The name's Raph. Short for Raphael."

"And what would you say your position in the group is?"

He points a thumb to himself and brags, "I'm the best fighter we have! I hate it when Leo's always telling us to show mercy to our enemies. What if they don't deserve it, right?"

The hostess gives him a thoughtful look. "Hmm. And what do your brothers think of it?"

"They can just stick it in their shell for all I care," Raph answers gruffly.

Gently, the hostess asks, "But you do care about your brothers, don't you? Even the one who bothers you all the time?"

Raph frowns. "How do you know that?" After a pause, he admits, "Yeah, I care. And I know why I'm not the leader. I make horrible choices when it comes to the safety of my bros. I just wish Leo would be a little more understanding about fighting. Not everyone thinks that mercy is an act of strength. A lot of people see it as weakness."

"I completely understand. What would you say your relationship is with your family?"

"I love my brothers, but sometimes they just annoy the heck out of me. They probably think I don't care, or even that I hate 'em, but that's not true. I just can't show my feelings sometimes, ya know? And I always respect my Sensei." The buzzer goes off as soon as he finishes.

The hostess smiles. "Guess that's all the time we have. Good to talk with you, Raphael."

Raph gets up to leave as the fourth, and last, turtle makes his entrance, strolling in and actually waving to the hidden audience. "Yo! Whassup?" He takes a seat.

"Hi, and who are you?" The hostess asks.

With an air of confidence, the turtle answers, "I'm Michelangelo, but everyone calls me Mikey. Except Master Splinter, but he calls all of us by our full names.

The hostess smiles at Mikey's attitude and has to ask, "And are you the youngest of your brothers or…?

"Nah," he answers with a wave of his hand. "I just act like it. We're all the same age, but I'm more like the cool kid, ya get what I mean?"

He winks and the hostess laughs. "I doubt your brothers would agree, but anyway. If you weren't a ninja, what would you want to be?"

"I wanna be a famous hip hop artist and travel the world! Ooh, or a breakdancer! That would be sweet!"

"What do you like to do in your free time?"

"Let's see." Mikey begins counting on his fingers. "Play video games, read comics, just chillin' in the Lair with my bros. That's basically it, really."

The hostess nods. "Sounds like you guys have a good time. What do you think your role is in your group?

"Imma wild card, yo! Or, uh, at least that's what Casey says." Then he leans in and adds in a not so quiet tone, "Don't really know what that means." Talking normally again, he adds, "Anyway, my bros might say I'm never serious, but I can be! I just," he shrugs, "like having fun."

The buzzer goes off again and Mikey exists the stage, waving to the audience, as the hostess brings her interview to a conclusion. "Well there you have it, an interview with all the turtles! Hope you enjoyed it and have a good day!"

THE END

* * *

 **And on another note, my computer is up and working again(not that anyone knew it was broken in the first place), so the previous chapters are now fixed! If I missed any words, please don't hesitate to let me know. I appreciate it! Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Whoop! Chapter Six is live! Sorry for the wait. To make up for it, I tried to write this one longer. Excluding the intermission chapter, this one's the longest so far!**

* * *

July found Kayla at a table under the shade of a tree, sitting across from Devon. They stopped their conversation as she walked up to them. "Uh, hey," she greeted uncertainly. Kayla scooted over and July gratefully took the spot next to her. "Where's everyone else?"

Devon answered, "If by everyone else, you mean the rest of the newspaper group, we only eat together during meetings."

"And when's that?" July asked. "I don't think I caught the meeting times yesterday." She took a bite of her slice of pizza.

"Oh, sorry," said Kayla. "We have a meeting every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which means we'll be having one tomorrow."

"And usually we have the meetings after school," added Devon. "Yesterday, Kayla had soccer practice, so we changed the meeting time to lunch."

July nodded in acknowledgement and turned her attention back to her food.

* * *

April got her lunch quickly and went to look for the new student, July, if she remembered it right. Quite a few students liked eating outside, so the background chatter was a constant.

Casey ended up tagging along after she gave him a brief explanation. They managed convince Irma they were working on a class project so she wouldn't sit with them, and found empty seats at the table next to July, Kayla, and one other student April recognized but didn't know the name of. She struggled to hear their conversation over the din.

* * *

"So, what happened, exactly?" Devon asked. "Kayla told me about your little alien encounter, but I wanted to hear it from you. She said you also got pictures?"

July nodded, got out her camera from her backpack, and handed it to him as she started going over the details. Once she was finished, Devon said, "Amy wants you to _prove_ your stories are true, and no offense, but these pictures aren't good enough. She could just think you photoshopped them or something."

July gave him a small glare. "Dude, you're looking at these pictures straight from the camera. I think you can tell they're authentic. Besides, I'm not a photoshop kind of person."

"I know, I'm just telling you what Amy would think."

"You could always ask around," suggested Kayla. "It doesn't have to be last night, just as long as someone else saw those robot-brain-alien things like you did, or that spider."

July sighed. Who could she talk to that witnessed something similar? After a moment, an idea formed in her head. "The newspaper!" She blurted out. When her friends gave her confused looks, she continued, "If official news reporters could get witnesses, I can look up reports and see if there are any names I could search. Then I can ask them to confirm what they saw!" She was getting excited now and kept going, " _Or_ , I could try to find them again -not that I want to see the brain things, those were way too creepy- but the spider or something else out of the ordinary. Maybe even a ninja!"

Devon laughed and said to Kayla, "She's almost as obsessed about aliens and ninjas as you are with Chris Bradford. Ow!" He got a kick in the shin in response, and winced. "What? I'm just saying."

At the next table over, none of them saw the look shared between a red haired girl and her friend who's always carrying around a hockey stick.

Calming down, July turned her attention to Kayla and asked, "Speaking of that guy, did you manage to find anything?"

Kayla shook her head. "No, but I figured out a plan. He's got several dojos in New York, so I'm thinking to visit the places and ask around. Maybe someone who knows him personally can give me more info."

"I hope you'll remember to be careful," Devon worried. "Being a famous celebrity, he could sue if he thinks you're digging around too much."

Kayla waved his words away. "I know, I know. I'll just tell them it's personal and I won't give away anything."

They continued chatting away until the bell rang.

* * *

Once school was over, Casey and April met up at the entrance and started for the turtle's home. April sighed. First July, then her friend. _What's Kayla going to do if she sees what Bradford had become? What's_ Rahzar _going to do?_

Casey broke through her thoughts when he said, "Dude, that girl sits by me in history class." He was skating around on his attachable wheels.

"Who? Kayla or July?"

"July," he answered. Then, after a pause, he asked, "What are we going to do, April? If she runs into the Kraang, they might try to use her for one of their experiments."

"Yeah, but if she runs into the turtles first, she could expose them," April pointed out. "Plus I'm worried about that other girl, Kayla. Rahzar works for Shredder. Who knows what would happen if she sees him."

As soon as they got to the Lair, April found all four brothers in what could be known as their living room. "We've got trouble, guys," she announced.

"Yeah, no kidding," Raph replied as they walked over.

Donnie looked up from the device in his hands with worry on his face. "The Kraang seem to be up to something again. I'm getting major energy signals coming from the TCRI building, but I, I can't tell what. It could be anything."

"Then we need to go check it out before they make any more problems," Leo replied. "Here's the plan: we'll sneak in and find out what they're up to, then we'll take 'em down."

Raph grinned. "I like that plan."

"Thought you might." Leo grinned back.

"Guys, wait," April interrupted. "A girl from our school saw them last night."

"No offense, April," began Donnie, "but that's not a big deal. A lot of people have seen the Kraang already."

"Usually, they just run away, screaming." Raph pointed out. Mikey chuckled at that.

"But that's the point. _She's_ in the school's newspaper committee, trying to investigate them. What if she sees you and decides to write about you in the school paper? Or gets caught by the Kraang and they decide to mutate her or something?"

"Look, April, I'm sure it can wait." Leo reassured her. "We'll deal with that after we stop whatever plans the Kraang have." Then he nodded to his brothers and they took off. April sighed in frustration.

"What is the matter, April?" Master Splinter asked from behind her. She explained their classmates' interests in their enemies to him. He was frowning by the time they were finished. "Hmm, this is indeed a problem. They are unwittingly putting us, and themselves, in danger."

"So what are we going to do, Sensei?" April asked.

"Have you tried speaking to them?"

April shook her head. "Haven't had much of a chance to. July's only been a student at our school since yesterday, and we just heard about Kayla today."

"Maybe we could keep an eye on them," suggested Casey, who had slowly put himself at a distance when the giant mutant rat showed up. "They're in some of our classes."

Master Splinter nodded. "That is a good idea, and while you are at it, you could try talking them out of their search." The teens agreed and made a plan to invite Kayla and July to their lunch table the next day.

* * *

After another successful mission, the turtle brothers were recounting their fight with the Kraang as they made their way home through the sewers.

"The Kraang had a lot of mutants locked up," Leo noted. "Wonder what they're trying to do."

"Judging by what I could get from their database, they're doing some kind of experiment with mutant DNA," Donnie explained.

"Well, whatever they're doing, at least we closed that portal," said Raph.

" _And_ deleted the data."

"Yeah," Mikey agreed. "You'd think people would notice we'd saved the world loads of times by now."

"You're not still obsessing over the whole 'I wanna be famous' thing, are you?" Raph asked, crossing his arms. "Geez, would you give it a rest?"

"Come on, Mikey, what point of being a ninja do you not understand?" Donnie added. "We're _supposed_ to be unnoticeable." Then he and Raph picked up their pace and moved ahead.

Mikey looked at the ground dejectedly until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Leo smiling at him. "You wanna know what's better than being famous?" The leader in blue asked.

"Getting free pizza?" Mikey replied, perking up.

Leo hesitated before answering, "That too, but what's also better than being famous, is being heroes, even if no one else knows we exist."

Mikey thought about it for a moment. "I guess," he said with a shrug. Then he smiled. "Thanks, Leo."

"No problem," Leo replied, flashing a smile of his own.

"So how about that pizza?"

Leo laughed and wrapped an arm across his brother's shoulders. "Sure, Mikey. As soon as we get home."

Mikey punched the air. "Alright!"


	8. Chapter 7

July was sitting at her desk, writing in her journal before class started, when a voice greeted, "Hey." She looked up to see the red haired girl with the yellow headband standing in front of her. April O'Neil, her mind recalled.

"Uh, hi," July replied, casting a confused glance to Kayla, who had stopped reading her sports magazine to watch.

"You're the new student, right? July Ame?" April noticed that if the girl's name had been spoken as it was spelled, they would have had something in common: month names.

"Yeah, and you're April O'Neil, the girl who fell asleep in class the other day."

April gave an embarrassed laugh. "Yep, that's, uh, that's me. Listen, I was wondering if you and Kayla would like to have lunch with me and my friends today."

"Why?" Kayla asked abruptly. Her face showed confusion, but her eyes held suspicion.

"Why not?" April responded casually. "I'm just trying to be friendly."

"Sorry, but we're not interested."

" _We_?" July asked, bewildered. "Kayla, what-"

"Not now," Kayla muttered. She turned back to her magazine and buried her nose in it.

July blinked. _What's with all the hostility?_ she wondered, feeling a bit hurt. She turned to apologize to April, and saw- was that frustration on her face? It was gone as soon as April noticed July looking at her. July shook any doubtful thoughts from her head. "Sorry about Kayla," she apologized.

"It's fine. Talk to you later?"

"Uh, sure."

"Great," April chirped. She swiftly spun around and went back to her desk. July could sense Kayla's eyes baring into her, but tried to avoid it as she went back to writing. She was still confused, but whatever the reason Kayla had for being suspicious, it didn't stop her from accepting April's invite to talk.

* * *

Soon enough, it was lunchtime. As they made their way to the cafeteria, April told Casey of her failed approach that morning. "Do you think Kayla knows what we're up to?"

"I dunno, Red," Casey answered, then joked, "Maybe she just doesn't like you."

April responded to that with an unamused look. "Then what do you suggest we do? We need to keep a careful eye on them, remember? Master Splinter doesn't want the turtles involved." She remembered all too well his warning to keep his sons out of anything that could put them at risk of discovery.

"Yeah, I get it," said Casey. "You said July was easier to talk to, right? Since Kayla's not in our history class, maybe I could convince July to hang out with us."

"Good luck," April muttered as they met Irma in the lunch line. After getting their food, April spotted July and Kayla walking towards the outside tables. "Why don't we eat outside today," she suggested, already speeding ahead to save a table close enough to keep their targets in sight.

* * *

At lunch, the two student reporters met up with Devon and sat outside. This time James came to sit with them as well. As he was showing Devon some pictures he'd taken recently, July took the opportunity to ask Kayla, "What happened this morning? Why were you being mean to April?"

"I don't trust her," Kayla replied. "I mean, she's nice enough, but she purposely avoids people, like she's hiding some big secret she doesn't want anyone to know."

"So? People have secrets. Why is that a reason to judge someone?"

Kayla shook her head. "I don't think you'd understand it, but ever since school started, April's always been a little weird." She took a look around, and saw April, Casey, and Irma sitting at a table not too far away. She nodded in their direction and continued in a quieter tone, "See those friends she's with? April only hangs out with them. The boy's name is Casey Jones. He's a delinquent, gets into trouble a lot, and I heard once that he's trying to become something of a vigilante." Kayla huffed and rolled her eyes. "As if that would do any good. The girl's name is Irma Langstein. She's only ever seen hanging out with April and Casey, and no one else. Barely anyone knows anything about her, and do you see what she's wearing? Trust me, July, you don't want to hang out with the likes of them. Friends don't let friends hang out with bad people."

As nice as that last comment was, July couldn't help feeling frustrated. "Come on, Kayla, you can't give them a chance? I mean, do you even know them?"

"Not really," Kayla admitted, "but does it matter? Look, the point is, April's hardly reached out to anyone other than those two. Now, suddenly she wants to be our friend? It's suspicious."

"But what if she _was_ just trying to be friendly?" July argued. "I haven't been here very long, so maybe she wanted to say hi and get to know me a bit?"

"Then why ask me to join for lunch? She knew we shared a class. She could have asked me months ago if she wanted to 'be friendly'." Kayla said the last words using finger quotes before taking a bite out of her sandwich.

"What are you guys whispering about over there?" James asked, stopping them from continuing their conversation.

"It's nothing," Kayla answered quickly. "So what are you going to show Amy today?"

As James happily showed her his choices for new background pictures on their webpage, July dropped her head in her hands and quietly groaned. She wanted to defend April and her friends. No one should ever be judged by what they look like or how they act without proof. Knowing was one thing, gossip was something else entirely. They couldn't be that bad, could they?

* * *

One class later, July entered her World History class. Their teacher, Mr. Ray, was an easygoing adult who allowed his students to choose their own seats for each class. July never thought much of it until a familiar face took the desk next to hers. After all, Kayla had just pointed him out about an hour ago.

As Mr. Ray began the lesson, April's friend whispered over, "Psst, hey!" July peered at him from the corner of her eye. He saw that he'd gotten her attention and continued, "Name's Casey Jones. You're July, right? Mind if I call you Jules?" He smiled, showing a large gap in his teeth.

Taken aback at his sudden introduction, July couldn't say anything except, "Uh..." She glanced to the front of the class where Mr. Ray was pointing out a screen with an ancient drawing of a Japanese samurai warrior; the sound of the projector covering their hushed voices well enough not to get his attention.

Now July was getting suspicious, and she allowed her facial expression to show it when she turned back to Casey. Two people that she didn't know, yet were friends with each other, approaching her on the same day?

When she was too busy thinking to answer, Casey shrugged. "Alright, cool. You wanna hang out sometime?"

 _This_ was the kind of attitude she didn't like. July gave her mind a mental shake and managed to say, "Yeah, how about no."

"Aw, how come?"

 _Maybe because you're friends with April, who just so happened to ask the same thing on the same day?_ July wanted to tell him that, but felt that it was too close to Kayla's prejudice towards them, so she replied with, "Maybe because you're interrupting the lesson? I'm trying to focus here."

"Okay. Are you busy after school?"

"As a matter of fact, I am. Now please be quiet so I can learn." July turned away from him and tried to focus on what Mr. Ray was explaining.

The lesson continued, and July was incredibly interested since this was a topic she knew well. Back in Japan, she'd always had an interest in samurai ways. At least, their philosophical point of view rather than their sometimes violent nature, which was usually over exaggerated by the media.

July was eager to share her knowledge, and was raising her hand at every opportunity, much to the amusement and annoyance of her fellow classmates. Casey, however, had a feeling she'd get along really well with Master Splinter, that was if she weren't trying to expose them.

As the school day came to an end, July headed for the library, meeting James and Andrew on the way. They were looking through James' camera for the best photos to put on the website.

"Hey," James noticed, turning to July, "you didn't bring your camera today. I heard Kayla say you found something."

 _Kayla seems to be a gossiper_ , thought July as she replied, "Nah, the pictures were too blurry, so I left my camera at home."

"I've got this software that can help focus the pictures. If you want, I can try making them less blurred," Andrew offered.

July shook her head. "It's fine. Besides, I don't have any witnesses. I heard Amy won't believe what she sees without proof to back it up." They entered the library and arrived in the same sectioned off area they'd used the other day. Amy, Kayla, and Devon were already there, since their last classes were the closest to the library.

When Amy saw that they were all present, she clasped her hands together and said, "Alright, fellow students. Time to show me what you got." They each took turns giving her updates on reports they were following up, along with James handing over his camera and pointing out the best shots. Andrew had taken out a laptop from his bag and set it up at one of the tables.

"My team has a game coming up, so I'll be reporting on that," Kayla mentioned.

"How's that hunt for Chris Bradford coming?" Amy asked, apparently more curious and interested than she'd let on last time.

"I visited a few of his dojos, but no one knows much of the details. Then, earlier today, I remembered he has a personal one somewhere nearby, so I've decided to check it out later."

"Okay. And what about you, July?"

"Uh, I've been keeping an eye out for suspicious or unusual activity, but so far, I haven't been able to confirm anything yet," she reported, casting a glance at Kayla and Devon. They gave her approving looks in return.

"That's fine," said Amy once she'd finished. "It would probably take some time to get solid proof, so I wasn't expecting anything right away." Announcing to everyone, she added, "Right, meeting dismissed. Kayla's got soccer practice on Friday, so we'll be meeting at lunch. Everyone okay with that?" Murmurs of agreements answered her question and everyone began going their own ways. Amy, Andrew, and James stayed to update the news webpage as Devon, Kayla, and July left for their homes.

* * *

 **Whoo! Scratch what I said about the last chapter being the longest. _This_ is the longest chapter I've written for anything. And believe me, guys, it's only gonna get better! Let me know what you think; is the pace going too slow or too fast? Are there any parts that don't make enough sense? Please leave a review, I appreciate them! See you in the next chapter!**


End file.
